J A_Redacted.pdf

Justification and Approval (J&A) for Other Than Full and Open Competition

NOTE: If a Justification and Approval was approved for the preceding acquisition, a copy of the approved J&A for the predecessor action must be included in the staff package for approval of the instant J&A. This applies to J&A staff packages that are submitted for review and approval at a level above the contracting officer. The predecessor J&A will be used as a reference document by the approving official.

Choose the funding level for this J&A Document:

< $700K > $700K and < $13.5M > $13.5M and < $93M > $93M

Contracting Activity: AFLCMC/WIUKB

Purchase Request / Local ID Number: FD2060-16-94202

Program / Project (and PE, if applicable): Joint Reliability Availability Management System (JRAMS)

Program Type (PEO or Other Contracting): PEO Delegated to due the low dollar threshold

Authority (include full title): FAR 6.302-1, 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1)

Estimated Contract Cost (including options): J&A Type: Class Individual

COORDINATION (AFFARS 5306.304(a) )

Date

29 Jul 2016

Program Manager

Signature

Date

Signature

APPROVAL (AFFARS 5306.304(a) )

I. Contracting Activity.

The requiring activity for the proposed contracting action is the Aerospace Sustainment Directorate, AFLCMC/WIUAG. The contracting authority for this requirement is AFLCMC/WIUKB at Robins AFB, Georgia. This is a Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition. The purchase request number supporting this contracting action is FD2060-16-94202.

II. Nature and/or description of the action being processed.

This is a follow-on contracting action. Due to the circumstances described herein, the activity requests authority to acquire the engineering services to maintain the Joint-Reliability Availability Management System (JRAMS) using Other Than Full and Open Competition as prescribed by U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. This action will result in the award of a firm-fixed price contract with a cost reimbursement CLIN for material. This sole source requirement will be purchased from the following company:

Southwest Research Institute 6220 Culebra Road San Antonio TX 78238-5166

CAGE: 26401

Large Business

III. Description of supplies/services required to meet agency needs.

This is a service requirement to meet specialized engineering services, technical support, and the system sustainment to support the weapon system analysts, logistics personnel, and decision makers who use J-RAMS tool to accomplish their daily mission objectives. The contractor shall maintain and upgrade the J-RAMS database and ensure all security issues/notifications are resolved in the time frames required. J-RAMS automates the collection of data from designated systems to provide reliability, maintainability, and supportability data, along with analysis tools, in one package. The tools include 1) Conversational Interface (using “English” to obtain data from the database); 2) Automated Trigger Based Item Management (using Statistical Process Control to identify potential problem areas);

3) an Assessment Model tool (to identify which changes will be most effective at increasing the Mission Capable rate); 4) Automated Reports Generator; 5) Website; 6) Query Wizard; and 7) System Explorer. J-RAMS has proven vital in maintaining Special Operations Forces (SOF), Air Education and Training Command (AETC), Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), Air Combat Command (ACC), and Air Force Material Command (AFMC) logistics oversight. Estimated cost of this acquisition is as delineated below; (1) 12 month basic with one (1) 12 month option period.

Funding is being sourced through Sustaining Engineering as part of their integrity program. Funding for this requirement will be 3400 dollars.

Estimated Cost:

Basic:

Option 1:

IV. Statutory authority permitting Other than Full and Open Competition.

10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, Only One or a Limited Number of Responsible Sources, and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

V. Demonstration that the contractor's unique qualifications or nature of the acquisition requires the use of the authority cited above (applicability of authority).

The agency's minimum needs can only be satisfied by the unique supplies or services available from only the above cited source, which possesses unique capabilities which are demonstrated as follows:

The J-RAMS, otherwise known by its government IT designation as A400, was developed by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) for Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) Headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida beginning in 1996. Since 1996, SwRI has maintained the JRAMS application, ensured it is functioning properly, and that all SOF/PR users are utilizing J-RAMS effectively. They have unrestricted access to a fully equipped J-RAMS training room located within SWRI's facility in Warner Robins, GA.

Both SOF/PR Government and contractor personnel are invited to this facility to attend J-RAMS familiarization sessions. J-RAMS is used by other weapons systems such as KC-135, C-5, A-10, F-15, KC-10, B-1 and C32/40 aircraft using separate and independent contracts. These weapons systems also use J-RAMS to extract maintenance data to be utilized to make sound weapons system decisions. SOF/PR currently owns the primary GFE used in support of the J-RAMS system with the other users purchasing GFE unique to their requirements. Moving the SOF/PR owned GFE would result in rendering the system inoperable by SwRI for the other system users. If the prime contract was to be shifted from SwRI, all users would lose access to J-RAMS and analysis support. They would be forced to terminate current contracts with SwRI for the "convenience of the Government" and initiate new contracts with the new vendor. Users of the J-RAMS program cannot afford a break in service due to system downtime. J-RAMS provides a single source of information that can only be duplicated by the use of LIMS-EV, REMIS and supplemented by communications with MAJCOMs and associated units. J-RAMS enables users the ability for rapid retrieval of information that paints the “whole picture” and analysis of all applicable data in a fraction of the time it would take using other Logistics Management Information (LMI) systems saving time and man hours. JRAMS also facilitates rapid response to Congressional and upper level requests for information, analysis and recommendations.

Since these contracts are Firm Fixed Price contracts, funding would be lost and these users would be forced to seek an unfunded requirement. If the using commands are forced to terminate early during FY16 execution year, AFMC which has invested for the KC-135, would lose if terminated. The A-10 has a one year contract and would lose The F-15 has a one year contract option pending and would lose .

Additionally, and most importantly, the time required to transition the hardware and databases and to train key personnel would result in six to twelve months of system downtime at a minimum. This would be a result of the new vendor having to acquire the mandated IATT certifications. Moving to a new contractor would mean that much of the remaining time and money intended for J-RAMS support will be spent transitioning the system and training new personnel which would be uneconomical in terms of government spending. It is estimated that the cost of replacing the system is . Additionally, the estimated remaining life of this system is 2 years and the government would not recoup this cost within that time frame at an annual estimated cost of . It would take over 7 years to fully recoup the cost of this system. Additionally, transitioning to another OEM would create unacceptable delays in fulfilling the Governments requirements. It is estimated that the time required to transition the hardware and databases and to train key personnel would result in six to twelve months of system downtime at a minimum. This would be a result of the new vendor having to acquire the mandated IATT certifications.

If this contract is not awarded, J-RAMS will not be available to Air Force users worldwide. The war-fighters at their respective commands and field units would lose their preferred weapon system analysis tool out of the available options that the Air Force has to offer for these high demand aircraft. Compiled maintenance data, such as aircraft status and aircraft system failure data, is normally provided to warfighters through their preferred system will be lost and leadership will have longer wait times for the necessary information to make sound weapon system decisions.

VI. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable.

This requirement will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) web page as required by FAR 5.201. A Sources Sought Synopsis (SSS) was conducted to aid in a more thorough market research. The SSS (FA8552-15-R-1001) was issued on 16 July 2015. There were two responses to the SSS and both companies are large businesses-Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) the current contractor, and SwRI was found fully capable of fulfilling all the requirements. was determined not fully capable of fulfilling all requirements; current system certification and appropriate facilities were identified as the primary reasons. The Government also conducted Market Research which produced 12 potential small businesses that fall into the category of the services being acquired under NAICS code 541511 and 541512. The results of the Market Research conclusions are addressed in Section VIII.

VII. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The overall cost of this acquisition will be determined fair and reasonable to the Government. In accordance with FAR 15.404, it is anticipated that negotiations will be conducted using other than certified cost or pricing data . A thorough price analysis using available information and approved pricing techniques will support the contracting office in making a determination that the price paid to the contractor is fair and reasonable to the Government. The contracting office will utilize support organizations such the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) and the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) for additional pricing and technical assistance to evaluate costs and pricing information provided by the contractor. Local technical expertise, such as the Engineer, Equipment Specialist and Program Manager, will be utilized to evaluate the proposed labor hours and labor categories to complete this effort.

VIII. Description of the market research conducted and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted.

The Government posted a Source Sought Synopsis (FA8552-15-R-10001) on 16 July 2015. We had two responses to our Sources Sought Synopsis. The results of the Sources Sought Synopsis were incorporated into the Market Research Report. The Government used the Small Business Dynamic Search using NAICS 541511 and 541512 to identify potential vendors. The search identified 12 potential vendors; of the 12 vendors identified, none were found capable of fulfilling this requirement. These results were incorporated into the Market Research Report, which was completed 30 June 2016 IAW FAR Part 10.

The Market Research concluded that only one vendor, SwRI, who is the current service provider, was found fully capable of fulfilling the Government's requirement. All the other vendors are not capable due to not having the necessary facilities, trained personnel, and required IATT security certification. JRAMS is set to sunset no later than FY18. Due to the transition from JRAMS to LMIS-EW, it would not be cost effective to bring a new contractor up to speed. It takes approximately 45-90 days to transition the hardware, databases, and to train key personnel. On top of that, it would take up to an additional 12 months to acquire the IATT security certifications.

IX. Any other facts supporting the use of Other Than Full and Open Competition.

None.

X. List of sources, if any, that expressed interest in the acquisition.

See Section VI above.

XI. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before making subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required.

At this present time there is only one source that can perform this support. Due to the high cost of , initial set-up and sustainment, it would not be economically feasible for a different vendor to be awarded this contract. The program office at WIUWA SOF/PR has been directed by AFSOC to transition the JRAMS program to the Logistics, Installations and Mission Support-Enterprise View (LIMS-EV) program.

LIMS-EV will capture some existing JRAMS capabilities and format them into the LMS-EV capabilities.

LIMS-EV utilizes some of the same data sources and infrastructure as JRAMS and is the authoritative source for Air Force maintenance data. Leveraging this existing IT capability will lower AFSOC's sustainment cost. This will constitute organic support. At the sunset or conclusion of the follow-on contract, September 2018, AFSOC plans to migrate to the LIMS-EV program. The program office at WIUWA SOF/PR has been directed to seek follow-on support for the two year period to allow AFSOC PMO to migrate to the new program that is replacing JRAMS. This follow-on effort will ensure a level of coverage that will allow AFSOC to accomplish this migration to LIMS-EV. Therefore, there are no other plans to remove competitive barriers since the Government will pursue this type of coverage organically in the future. At this time it is in the best interest of the Air Force to remain with Southwest Research Institute for the reasons stated above.

XII. Certification by the Contracting Officer.

As evidenced by his signature, the contracting officer has determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of his knowledge and belief. FAR 6.303-2(b)(12))

XIII. Certification by the technical/requirements personnel.

As evidenced by their signatures on the J&A signature page, the technical and/or requirements personnel have certified that any supporting data contained herein which is their responsibility is both accurate and complete. (FAR 6.303-2 (c))